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Brexit: new bill to include MPs' vote on second referendum, May says – live news Brexit: new bill to include MPs' vote on second referendum, May says – live news
(30 minutes later)
And this is what May said in her speech on customs.
Now the government has already put a proposal which delivers the benefits of a customs union but with the ability for the UK to determine its own trade and development policy.
Labour are both sceptical of our ability to negotiate that and don’t believe an independent trade policy is in the national interest. They would prefer a comprehensive customs union - with a UK say in EU trade policy but with the EU negotiating on our behalf.
If we are going to pass the withdrawal agreement bill and deliver Brexit, we must resolve this difference.
As part of the cross-party discussions the government offered a compromise option of a temporary customs union on goods only, including a UK say in relevant EU trade policy and an ability to change the arrangement, so a future government could move it in its preferred direction.
We were not able to agree this as part of our cross-party talks – so it is right that parliament should have the opportunity to resolve this during the passage of the bill and decide between the government’s proposal and a compromise option.
This is what May said in her speech about a second referendum.
For the record, this is what she said about a second referendum
I have also listened carefully to those who have been arguing for a Second Referendum.
I have made my own view clear on this many times. I do not believe this is a route that we should take, because I think we should be implementing the result of the first referendum, not asking the British people to vote in a second one.
But I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the house on this important issue.
The government will therefore include in the withdrawal agreement bill at introduction a requirement to vote on whether to hold a second referendum.
This must take place before the withdrawal agreement can be ratified.
And if the House of Commons were to vote for a referendum, it would be requiring the government to make provisions for such a referendum – including legislation if it wanted to ratify the withdrawal agreement.
So to those MPs who want a second referendum to confirm the deal: you need a deal and therefore a withdrawal agreement bill to make it happen.
Here is the section from May’s speech in which she summed up her offer as a 10-point plan.
So our New Brexit Deal makes a ten-point offer to everyone in Parliament who wants to deliver the result of the referendum.
One - the government will seek to conclude alternative arrangements to replace the backstop by December 2020, so that it never needs to be used.
Two - a commitment that, should the backstop come into force, the government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland.
Three - the negotiating objectives and final treaties for our future relationship with the EU will have to be approved by MPs.
Four - a new workers’ rights bill that guarantees workers’ rights will be no less favourable than in the EU.
Five - there will be no change in the level of environmental protection when we leave the EU.
Six - the UK will seek as close to frictionless trade in goods with the EU as possible while outside the single market and ending free movement.
Seven - we will keep up to date with EU rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at border protecting the thousands of jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains.
Eight - the government will bring forward a customs compromise for MPs to decide on to break the deadlock.
Nine - there will be a vote for MPs on whether the deal should be subject to a referendum.
And ten – there will be a legal duty to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect this new deal.
All of these commitments will be guaranteed in law – so they will endure at least for this parliament.
Q: Some of your MPs seem to be opposed to this because it is you asking them to back it. What do you say to those who say you should step aside now?Q: Some of your MPs seem to be opposed to this because it is you asking them to back it. What do you say to those who say you should step aside now?
May says this is not about her. If it were about her, the UK would be leaving, she says.May says this is not about her. If it were about her, the UK would be leaving, she says.
And that’s it. The Q&A is over.And that’s it. The Q&A is over.
Q: You came into office committed to delivering Brexit and to bring the Tories together. How successful have you been?Q: You came into office committed to delivering Brexit and to bring the Tories together. How successful have you been?
May says she admitted in her speech she has not delivered Brexit.May says she admitted in her speech she has not delivered Brexit.
Q: If MPs vote for a confirmatory referendum, will it happen? And if MPs vote to stay in a customs union permanently, will you implement that?Q: If MPs vote for a confirmatory referendum, will it happen? And if MPs vote to stay in a customs union permanently, will you implement that?
May says she is not proposing a vote on a permanent customs union. She is proposing one on a temporary customs union. A future government would then be able to decide what happened in the future.May says she is not proposing a vote on a permanent customs union. She is proposing one on a temporary customs union. A future government would then be able to decide what happened in the future.
Q: Will you publish the bill before the recess?Q: Will you publish the bill before the recess?
May says it will be published “in the next few days”.May says it will be published “in the next few days”.
May says EU withdrawal agreement bill will be published shortly.May says EU withdrawal agreement bill will be published shortly.
Q: Do you want a Brexiter to replace you, or will that just prolong the conflict?Q: Do you want a Brexiter to replace you, or will that just prolong the conflict?
Nice try, says May. She says she will not comment on the leadership contest. That is a matter for the Conservative party.Nice try, says May. She says she will not comment on the leadership contest. That is a matter for the Conservative party.
May is now taking questions.May is now taking questions.
Q: The opposition parties say they will not vote for this. Isn’t this too late?Q: The opposition parties say they will not vote for this. Isn’t this too late?
May urges MPs to look at the detail of the bill. It will be published, she says. She has compromised, she says.May urges MPs to look at the detail of the bill. It will be published, she says. She has compromised, she says.
Q: If you lose the vote, can you confirm you will resign?Q: If you lose the vote, can you confirm you will resign?
That was last week’s news, says May. She made a statement with the chair of the 1922 Committee.That was last week’s news, says May. She made a statement with the chair of the 1922 Committee.
May says this deal will set the groundwork for life outside the EU.May says this deal will set the groundwork for life outside the EU.
But in future, Britain will be able to choose how it develops. Some will want it to move closer to the EU. Others will want it to move further away.But in future, Britain will be able to choose how it develops. Some will want it to move closer to the EU. Others will want it to move further away.
Future governments will be able to decide, she says.Future governments will be able to decide, she says.
She says over the next two weeks the government will try to get MPs to back this deal.She says over the next two weeks the government will try to get MPs to back this deal.
Tomorrow she will make a statement to MPs, she says.Tomorrow she will make a statement to MPs, she says.
She says she has compromised. It is up to MPs to compromise too, she says.She says she has compromised. It is up to MPs to compromise too, she says.
May says this is a great time to be alive.May says this is a great time to be alive.
Britain can make a success of the 2020s and 2030s.Britain can make a success of the 2020s and 2030s.
But it will not do that if it remains stuck in the Brexit impasse, she says.But it will not do that if it remains stuck in the Brexit impasse, she says.
She says, with the right Brexit deal, she can end this debate.She says, with the right Brexit deal, she can end this debate.
She says the UK will have opportunities outside the EU. And it will be able to do even more if it has a deal. It can protect trade, and protect security partnerships.She says the UK will have opportunities outside the EU. And it will be able to do even more if it has a deal. It can protect trade, and protect security partnerships.
This is a huge opportunity for the UK, she says - out of the EU, out of every closer union, free to do things differently.This is a huge opportunity for the UK, she says - out of the EU, out of every closer union, free to do things differently.
May says this opportunity is practical and deliverable.May says this opportunity is practical and deliverable.
But it is “slipping away from us”, she says.But it is “slipping away from us”, she says.
May says, if MPs approve her deal, they can get Brexit done.
May says, if MPs vote down the bill, they will be voting to reject Brexit.
Some MPs think there will be a no-deal Brexit. But parliament will do everything it can to stop that.
So in practice MPs will be choosing a second referendum or a general election, she says.
May says MPs will be left with second referendum or general election if they vote down her deal.
May sums up the changes she is announcing. There are 10 of them.
(I will post the list in full later.)
Turning to the issue of a second referendum, May says she is opposed. But she recognises that some MPs want one.
May says her Brexit bill will include a requirement to hold a vote on whether or not to have a second referendum.
May says this means, if MPs want a second referendum, they must vote for the bill.
May says customs is the most difficult area.
She says many people who voted to leave want to retain close trading links with the EU, just as many who voted remain, like herself, are excited by the trade opportunities offered by Brexit.
May says the government and opposition both want “as close as possible to frictionless trade” at the EU border.
She says the government has its own plan. (She seems to be referring to the facilitated customs arrangement plan.)
Labour wants a customs union, she says.
She says the government offered a temporary customs arrangement.
Labour and the government could not agree.
So parliament should resolve this, she says.
May says government will let parliament decide what to do about customs.
May says she is committed to maintaining workers’ rights.
There will be a new workers’ rights bill to ensure workers get rights that are very bit as good as, or better than, EU rights.
There will be a new office to uphold environmental standards.
She says the new bill will oblige the government to keep trade in goods with the EU as frictionless as possible.
May says she backed the plan from Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell, two Labour MPs, for MPs to have to approve the negotiating terms for the UK-EU trade deals.
May says she tried to reach a deal with Labour.
Those talks did not succeed, but she will not give up.
She has listened to MPs, and today she is making a serious offer to MPs.
She says she wants the Conservative party to stay united. Nine out of 10 Conservative MPs have agreed the deal.
She says MPs backed the Brady amendment.
May says she will put the government under a legal obligation to seek alternative arrangements to the backstop by December 2020.
May says she will also legislate to stop a future government splitting Northern Ireland off from Britain in regulatory terms.
May says delivering Brexit has proved “even harder than I anticipated”.
She says the way to deliver Brexit is to deliver a good deal with the EU.
That is what she proposed in her pitch for the Conservative leadership, and in her 2017 election manifesto. Labour’s said much the same, she says.
She says she has tried hard to deliver this.
At first she tried to deliver this with Conservative votes. She even offered to give up the job she loved. She says at the end of March if just 30 MPs had voted differently, the Brexit deal would have passed.
Theresa May is speaking now.
She say her job was and is to deliver Brexit.
And she wants a country that works for everyone, she says.